On the large square in front of Shuyuan Lane, on a flagpole more than four meters high with a flagpole, a flag with red characters on a blue background fluttered in the north wind.

On the flag, there is a long string of titles, 'Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, Director of Grain Storage, Commander-in-Chief of Military Affairs, and Governor-General of Yingtian, etc.', which makes people awe-inspiring.

The flagpole faces the eight-character wall of the government office. In front of the eight-character wall, a pair of stone lions show off their might, demonstrating the power of the provincial governor.

The personal soldiers carrying swords and guns stood solemnly inside the gate and did not allow anyone to approach.

Outside the gate, there were fifteen large blue wool sedan chairs parked.

The sedan bearers in red uniforms and the officials and clerks accompanying the sedan dared not breathe, as if they would disturb the officials in the yamen.

Today was the day when the new Yingtian Governor Hai Rui officially took office. The eleven local governors of the ten prefectures and one state under his jurisdiction, as well as the local supervisors such as the Susongchangzhen Military Preparations Department, Huiningchitai Military Preparations Department, and the Duliang Department, all had to come and observe the rules.

At this time, Hai Rui, wearing a crimson official robe, sat in the lobby. The fifteen local high-ranking officials were all silent and did not dare to even look at him.

The huge governor's hall was filled with red robes, and you could hear a pin drop.

The silence was not broken until Hai Rui spoke.

"You are all officials at the level of prefects and provincial governors. The shortest one has been in office for more than ten years. You are definitely better at speaking polite words than me." Then Hai Rui said in a deep voice: "Let's get straight to the point."

"Please ask for instructions from the Prime Minister." Cai Guoxi and others were in a panic, like mice seeing a cat.

"Wuzhong is the richest place in the world, but now it has accumulated bad habits and is in a state of decline. This court has been granted the privilege of being the governor of Jiangnan. We should clean up the bad habits and improve the discipline of officials. Only in this way can we live up to the emperor's grace."

Hai Rui bowed to the north, and then said firmly: "This court believes that the key to clearing up the accumulated abuses and improving the morals and disciplines is to control the officials at all levels. If the prefectural governor can change the customs of the people, he will be credited to the prefecture; if the county magistrate can do so, he will be credited to the county. If the local officials are competent, the people of the county will live and work in peace; if they are incompetent, the people of the county will suffer."

"As the saying goes, 'If you want to keep the people safe, you must first correct the laws.' If you want to correct the laws, you must first make laws." Hai Rui waved his hand, and Tian Baiguang came out with a thick stack of papers and distributed them to the gentlemen.

"This is the thirty-five-article Treaty of Governors and Governors drawn up by this court based on the treaties drawn up when I was the governor of Chun'an and Xingguo, and after some slight polishing in light of the situation in Jiangnan. I am now issuing it to you gentlemen. When you return, you must also issue it to all prefectures and counties, and order all officials in prefectures, counties and cities to follow it and not violate it, otherwise don't blame this court for severe punishment!"

After saying that, he slammed the gavel heavily with a snap.

The fourth-rank officials were so frightened that they all trembled and quickly opened the "Governor-General's Treaty" in their hands to read it.

Simply put, the "Governor-Governor Treaty" is a set of laws and regulations that Hai Rui established for himself and his subordinate officials.

To sum up, there are probably five aspects.

First, he prohibited his subordinates from showing off when receiving him. For example, he stipulated that when he arrived at a place, officials were not allowed to go out of the city to greet him; there was no need to play drums and music in the court, and it was not allowed to spread felts and colorful decorations, etc.

Second, it was against extravagance. For example, it was stipulated that when one went to a prefecture or county, one could only live in the original government office and was not allowed to rebuild it; if there were any furnishings in the government office, one could only use the original items and not make new ones; when one went to eat in a place where prices were high, one could not spend more than three coins per meal; and in a place where prices were low, one could not spend more than two coins per meal.

Third, corruption and using public funds for private purposes are prohibited. It is stipulated that "public funds should not be used for anything other than for the public and the people", and public funds should not be used to entertain guests or give gifts to show favors. One should use one's own salary to do private things. If one does not distinguish between public and private funds and spends them together, it will be considered corruption.

Fourth, bribery is prohibited. It is stipulated that gifts to superiors are not allowed, and clerks must be strictly prevented from accepting bribes. If an official bribes, the punishment will be increased.

Fifth, severely punish dereliction of duty. All routine and assigned tasks must be completed on time, otherwise they will be punished. For example, if the government soldiers in charge of paying salaries in various prefectures and counties fail to receive two items, the prefecture and county officials cannot withdraw them, or the prefecture and county salaries are withheld to pay the government soldiers.

~~

After reading this "Governor-Governor Treaty", Cai Guoxi and his friends were all stunned.

This, this, how can people survive this?

You can't accept bribes, you can't embezzle, you can't eat and drink excessively, you can't be ostentatious, and you can't slack off... What's the point of being an official?

But what Hai Rui asked them to do, he also asked himself to do, and he was even more strict and left no room for compromise.

This made the prefects and officials afraid to say anything. They just turned their bitter faces to Hai Zhongcheng and looked at him pitifully.

"You don't have to do that. These 35 articles of the 'Governor-General's Treaty' are much more relaxed than the regulations I made in Chun'an Xingguo before." Hai Rui ignored it and said, "Moreover, the original text of each article can be found in the 'Great Ming Code'. There is absolutely no article that was made up by our court to embarrass you."

"This..." Zhenjiang Prefect Qian couldn't help but whispered, "Zhongcheng Rong, there are many inhumane aspects of the statutes..."

"Therefore, this court has only promulgated thirty-five articles." Hai Rui glanced at him and said calmly, "If Prefect Qian thinks it's not enough, this court can add a few more articles specifically for Zhenjiang Prefecture!"

“No, no, no…” Prefect Qian was so frightened that his hair stood on end. He waved his hands repeatedly and said, “Enough, enough, that’s enough…”

It would be fine if they don't make any concessions, but once they do make concessions they add a few more conditions. Who the hell can stand this?

All the officials immediately shut up. No one dared to bargain with the King of the Sea anymore.

Anyway, Hai Rui will be in trouble for three years, so just treat it as three years in prison...

~~

Once the "Governors and Governors-General Regulations" are promulgated, they will take effect immediately.

Hai Rui immediately began to question the students. He looked at Zhong Zhengji, who was standing at the end of the class, and said:

"Prefect Zhong, I have looked through the unfinished work of Lin Zhongcheng and found that nine of the ten prefectures in Yingtian have already completed the survey, but Songjiang has not yet been surveyed. I wonder why?"

"Reporting to the Minister." Zhong Zhenji was sweating profusely. He bowed deeply and said in a trembling voice, "The power of the Songjiang gentry is too great, and the government cannot control it. For this reason, Minister Lin personally took charge of the supervision and was even besieged by the villagers..."

The Xu family's ship is full of holes and is on the verge of collapse, so of course he has to draw a clear line and make his position clear.

"But rest assured, Zhongcheng, I will get back to work on it!"

"By the end of the year." Hai Rui said coldly, "The survey must be completed by the end of the year, otherwise Prefect Zhong will impeach himself."

"As you command." Zhong Zhengji obediently responded and retreated.

Hai Rui looked at Cai Guoxi again and said, "Prefect Cai."

Prefect Cai was so frightened that he shuddered and hurried out of the office, saying, "I'm here."

"This court will inspect the prefectures, counties and cities under its jurisdiction. The first stop will be Suzhou." Hai Rui said in a deep voice.

"Yes, yes, sir." Cai Guoxi forced out a smile that was uglier than crying and said, "It's my honor."